“What would you sacrifice for what you believe?”
That sentence echoes throughout different pages of The Ultimates #19. While it could be the entire thesis statement for Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s series – and the new Ultimate Universe in general – it’s the mantra that Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, repeats to herself. Janet’s seemingly been helping her husband Hank, aka Giant-Man, and the rest of the Ultimates fight the Maker’s forces…but secretly, she reports to Nick Fury and his H.A.N.D. forces as a spy. What led her to betray her fellow heroes?
The answers unfurl over the course of The Ultimates #19, as Janet and an Ultimates force led by Captain America are caught in the biggest battle of their lives. The full fallout of this battle was teased in Ultimate Endgame #1, but Camp and Frigeri really sell how intense it is. Entire pages are filled with heroes taking on H.A.N.D. forces or supernatural creatures, and in one of the most gnarly pages in the whole book, Janet flies into a Frost Giant’s mouth and grows to giant size, ripping it in two. It’s one of many shocking moments that underline just how dangerous she can really be.
Marvel
In sharp contrast, the pages focusing on Janet’s past reveal how she and Hank came to fall in love. Camp’s script takes a turn for the emotional here, yet thankfully avoids becoming too saccharine, as it shows why Janet loves Hank despite all the hardship that befell them and why she joined H.A.N.D. It all leads to a massive reveal that I never saw coming…at first. However, going back and reading specific segments of dialogue helps tee up the reveal. In the process, it only offers further questions, and since The Ultimates is nearing the end of its run I hope we can get some answers without losing any of the momentum.
Another way The Ultimate #19 separates its past and present sections is through color. Regular series colorist Federico Blee brings an apocalyptic air to the present sequences, as the sky is filled with fire and smoke. Things switch to an ominous gray once Fury and his H.A.N.D. forces arrive, signaling just how far the shadowy organization reaches. Edgar Delgado handles the past sections, which take on a somewhat lighter hue, bordering on sepia tone. Through it all, black and yellow are the constants – in Janet’s Wasp costume, in her regular clothes, and in her narration.
The best thing that The Ultimates #19 does is continue the series’ standalone-story approach. While it technically takes place during and after the events of Ultimate Endgame #1, you can read this first and not feel too lost. As someone who’s often fallen off a title due to massive events swallowing it up in tie-ins and/or reboots, I appreciate that this reads as its own story.
The Ultimates #19 shows the cost of sacrifice and love in a stirring story, while building on the explosive fallout of Ultimate Endgame #1. Even as its end approaches, this comic continues to deliver some of the best stories on the racks.
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